Patricia E: learned code & switched careers as a developer

Patricia’s career spanned a variety of fields including acupuncture, nonprofits and business administration for over 20+ years, even though she was armed with an undergraduate degree in Biology. Having a strong interest in science and technology, she was consistently unhappy with her employment opportunities.

Looking to learn how to code and possibly make a career switch into computer programming, Patricia knew she didn’t want to spend money on just any educational institution, considering she still had student loans from her past to pay off. She search on Google and came across Coursera. Surprised that the courses was free, she immediately signed up for Programming for Everybody (Python). From the strong learner community and forums, the course opened the door to a number of new educational resources, experiences and materials.

Then in December 2014, Patricia unexpectedly got laid off as an office administrator. But because of her new Coursera credentials, Patricia was able to interview and immediately find a new part-time job working as a developer for a local nonprofit. She says the company would not have hired her unless she had the necessary skills technical skills for the role thanks for Coursera. “With just months worth of training from Coursera, I got a web developer job. Coursera gave me the confidence that I do know what I’m doing and feel like I can succeed in this field,” Patricia said.

Patricia is currently applying full-time to web developer positions at tech companies in San Francisco. She’s planning on continuing to build her skill set by enrolling in the Machine Learning or Creative Programming courses on Coursera.